Tug of War: New Light of a New Year
by LanieSullivan
Summary: A New Year's filler for the tale "Tug of War" Warning: if you haven't read that tale, this one will only make partial sense to you. I recommend reading that one first.


Disclaimer: "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. I retain rights to the plot, but not the characters. This story is meant for enjoyment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

Author's Note: This is an idea that has been in my head for a while since finishing "Tug of War." This is a New Year's filler story for that tale as I had set up in that one that the twins were born at the beginning of the year. For those of you following my other stories, I promise that I will get back to them soon. I just wanted to take a break to get this one done for the New Year. Happy 2015!

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December 31, 1987

Lee and Amanda walked into the Soviet embassy hand in hand, until Amanda hedged at the entryway and said, "No, I can't do this," and attempted to turn around.

Lee grasped her hand firmly and pulled her back to his side. "Yes, you can and you will. Now, come on."

"No," she protested. "I look like a beached whale. What are people going to think?"

Lee turned Amanda to face him and loosened the ties on her coat, slid his hands to her enlarged abdomen and said, "People are going to think the same thing that I do. That you're beautiful, that you've got that radiant motherly glow and they're going to look at me by your side and know that I'm responsible for it. They're going to see the way that I look at you and how proud I am of you and know that I wouldn't have it any other way." He then placed a tender kiss to her lips, pulled back to look at her, before walking behind her to slide her coat from her shoulders, exposing the floor-length crushed velvet royal blue dress that she wore that accentuated her rounded motherly figure. "They're going to notice how great you look in blue."

"Oh, you think so?" Amanda questioned with a wary look as Lee handed her coat and his own to the coat check attendant. "How are they going to even notice when all they can see is the beach ball I'm carrying around? I mean, come on, I'm almost nine months pregnant." If she were honest with herself, she'd admit that her fear had more to do with the fact that at these parties, they always ran into at least one of the women her husband had once bedded or a woman who had wanted him to.

"Amanda, stop," Lee said firmly as he turned back to her, took both of her hands in his, kissed them softly, and then gave them both a gentle squeeze. "I know what you're thinking and that part of my life is _over_. It was over the day that I met you. No one can hold a candle to you, especially since you're nine months pregnant with my babies." He then leaned in and whispered low in her ear, "Do you have any idea how incredibly sexy that is to me?"

Amanda looked at him in bewilderment and said, "Sexy? I think you need to spend some more time with Dr. Pfaff if you think that."

"No, Amanda, I'm not crazy."

"You are if you think this..." she indicated her engorged middle, "...is sexy."

Lee leaned in again and growled low in her ear, "It is sexy, very, _very_ sexy." He nuzzled her neck and murmured against her skin. "When I think about how these babies were made..." he stroked her abdomen, "...when I think about the fact that there's a part of me still inside you, all I can think is..." He lifted his head from her neck to her ear, so that only she could hear, mindful of the people coming and going around them, "...how much I love being inside you." Feeling Amanda shiver slightly at his words, Lee smiled at having gotten the reaction that he wanted and then said in a normal tone, "Since when do you care what people think anyway?"

Amanda sighed and answered, "You're right. I don't."

"Good," Lee nodded. "Now, let's get in there. We agreed that we were going to take this one night for ourselves since we haven't had a night out since Candice blew into our lives and left Leah behind. Now, your mother and Captain Curt are watching the kids so we can have that night out. I intend to take full advantage of it." He smiled affectionately at his wife.

"Oh?"Amanda replied smiling back as she slid her hands to his shoulders, planted a quick kiss to his lips and added, "Just how do you plan to do that?"

"For starters, I want a dance with my beautiful bride," He gestured toward the open door to the ballroom and held his arm out for her, "And you should know that I also intend to get my kiss at midnight." He gave her an impish grin, flashing her the dimples that he knew she could never resist.

Amanda obligingly linked her arm with and let him lead her into the room and sweep her out onto the crowded dance floor. When he took her in his arms and they began to waltz, all her insecurities faded at the look of pure love in his eyes directed only at her. "This is nice," Amanda said as she leaned into her husband's strong arms, laying her head against his chest as he guided her around the floor.

"Mm-hmm," Lee murmured in agreement, as he leaned her head against hers content to just hold her, immensely grateful that they no longer had to hide their love for one another in a public venue like this, happy that they were now openly husband and wife and that the chaos of a few months ago was behind them. He was also grateful that their family was settled into their new home, the boys were adapting well to their new schools, Leah was thriving in her first school and Jamie, who was usually the hardest to get to open up, was relishing his role as big brother to her and all three were eagerly awaiting the birth of their new siblings.

Amanda tapped Lee on the shoulder and said, "Sweetheart, as nice as this is, I need to take a break. Nature calls."

"Go," He said with a smile. Over the past couple of months, he'd learned very quickly that you don't get between a pregnant woman and the restroom. "I'll just get us some drinks."

Amanda made a beeline for the ladies room as fast as her bulkier-than-normal body would let her, nearly plowing into another figure who was exiting. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she apologized quickly.

"That's all right, Amanda. You look like a woman on a mission," the friendly voice replied.

At hearing her name, that was when she noticed just whom she'd nearly knocked over. She looked at the pretty brunette and said, "Yeah, I am," she said as she proudly stroked her rounded stomach, no longer worried about the women of Lee's past such as the translator in front of her.

"I understand. I have a little girl of my own," Leslie O'Conner said with a warm smile. "Don't let me get in your way." She stepped aside to allow Amanda into the room.

"Thank you," Amanda said pleasantly as she stepped into the room, barreling into the nearest stall as Leslie exited and made her way toward the bar and was greeted by another familiar face.

"Well, small world," Leslie said with amusement at seeing Lee there.

"Leslie." Lee gave her a nod before turning back to the bartender and accepted the drinks he'd ordered.

Leslie caught that flash of gold on his left hand as he did so and said, "You're married now."

Lee glanced down at the ring on his finger for a moment, then looked up at her and replied with a smile, "Yeah, I am."

"And I don't suppose it's coincidence that I just ran into Amanda in the ladies room looking like she's about to pop any day now," she teased.

Lee smiled, blushed slightly and said, "Guilty." There was an awkward silence for a moment before he said, "Look, Leslie, I'm sor-" Of all the women in his past, Leslie was the one he'd always felt a tinge of remorse for. While they'd never slept together, he'd used her shamelessly all the same in a desperate attempt to prove to himself that he could have a normal relationship all the while trying to deny his intense feelings for his partner.

He was cut off by her saying, "Don't. It's not necessary. You're right where you're supposed to be. I knew it the second that I met Amanda two years ago. The truth is that our brief relationship led me to where I'm supposed to be too. You're not the only one who's married now." She smiled and proudly displayed the wedding set she wore. "Actually, it's because of you that I met my husband."

"How's that?" he asked curiously.

"Well, that party we were supposed to attend together right here is where I met Mark," she nodded to a man a few feet away who was chatting amiably with a Russian woman. "It honestly worked out better this way. If you'd been my date for that party as we planned, I might never have given him the time of day."

"So, you're happy?" Lee said feeling his guilt ease a little.

"Very much so," she said then noticed his eyes lighting up and his attention elsewhere. She turned to see what had had captured his gaze and saw Amanda approaching with a man beside her, his arm linked with hers, both of them yammering in Russian. "You too it seems," she said as she turned back to face him just as the pair reached them.

"Boy, I can't leave you at these parties unattended for more than five minutes before you're in the company of another man," Lee quipped as he handed Amanda her drink.

"Now, don't blame your lovely wife," Yuri Valov replied. "We were just catching up. It is nice to see you again, my friend."

Lee sipped at his drink and nodded to the Russian spy who'd once helped them save the world. "You too," he replied before turning to his wife. "Your Russian's improved," he said with a proud smile.

"Just keeping in practice," Amanda said. "Just because I'm on maternity leave, that doesn't mean I can't keep my skills sharp."

"You know, there are plenty of Russian _women_ here to keep your skills sharp with," Lee teased, "The new ambassador, Anya Koslov, for example." He nodded to the woman chatting with Leslie's husband.

"Oh, like you have any room to talk," Amanda said with a brief glance at Leslie.

"Speaking of which, I should go rescue him," Leslie said. "It was lovely to see both of you again." She started to walk away, then turned back for a moment and added with a nod to Amanda's abdomen, "And congratulations."

"Thank you," Lee and Amanda said together as Lee slipped one arm protectively around his wife's stomach, both smiling brightly.

"Lee," Yuri said. "I was wondering if I might ask for the pleasure of a dance with your wife to allow us to finish our conversation."

Before Lee could answer, Amanda chimed in, "Oh, thank you for the offer, Yuri, but I'm afraid my dance card is full tonight. It was so very nice to see you again, though." She set her Shirley Temple down, reached for her husband's hand and said, "Shall we?"

"Absolutely," Lee said with a smile, set his own drink down and swept her back onto the dance floor. As they began to dance again, he slid his arms around to her back, pulled her close and said with a smile and a nod at Yuri, "See? What did I tell you? Even nine months pregnant, men can't take their eyes off of you; still want to dance with you."

Amanda chuckled, leaned her head against his shoulder and said, "It's just too bad for them that I only have one man on my mind, only one that I want to dance with." Just as the words were out of her mouth, a sharp pain sliced through her back and to her abdomen. When the pain subsided, she hoarsely whispered, "but I think there's somebody else who wants to cut in."

"Too bad for them," Lee said repeating her words not yet realizing what had just happened.

"Lee, this is one you can't refuse," Amanda insisted as she pulled back from his arms and clutched her stomach as another contraction engulfed her, sharper than the prior one. "Ow" she cried doubling over.

"Oh, God, you're in labor," Lee said. _Don't panic, don't panic, _he told himself. _You took the class. You're prepared for this. _He took a deep breath to relax and said, "Let's go," as he took her arm to guide her back to the entryway, hustled to get their coats, helping her into hers between contractions.

"You're leaving so soon?" Yuri questioned as he'd seen them leave the dance floor abruptly. "It is not even midnight yet."

"Change of plans," Lee said with a gesture to his wife's abdomen as he hurried her out the door.

Three hours later, as the 1987 was turning into 1988, Amanda let out a loud scream clutching Lee's hand tightly as she pushed with all her might, sweating profusely, her scream followed by an equally loud, angry wail as their son made his way into the world. Lee's eyes widened in amazement when he took his first look at his newborn son just before he was carried away to be cleaned up. He glanced at the clock on the wall and said, "Look at that, Amanda, it's midnight," he gushed unable to contain the elation he felt.

Amanda chuckled and said, "I supposed you want your midnight kiss," as she nodded toward him.

Lee planted a firm kiss to her lips, and then whispered, "Happy New Year," and kissed her again.

"Hey, now, enough of that," the doctor at Amanda's feet interjected. "We've still got more work to do here."

As if on cue, another contraction gripped Amanda as she gripped her husband's hand tightly, screaming again as her contractions again overlapped. Four minutes later, their daughter joined her brother, Amanda sank wearily back against her husband, exhausted, but elated, breathing heavily as she rasped out, "Happy New Year."

"Yes, it is," Lee said thinking this was a hell of a way to ring in the New Year.

Two hours later, Lee sat in his wife's hospital room, holding her hand and just watching her sleep off her exhaustion as he thought of the tiny babies in the neonatal intensive care unit that they hadn't yet gotten to hold because they were so small. Fear had gripped him as they'd been told they needed extra care since twins tended to be smaller than single births and because they were born four weeks early. The doctor had told them not to worry and that they were healthy, that this was just standard procedure with twins; that it was perfectly normal for twins to have smaller birth weight and to be born early. Feeling an overpowering urge to see his newborn children, he released his hold on his wife's hand and silently crept out of the room, making his way down the corridor as he thought of his mother-in-law's excited reaction when he'd called the house to let her know what was going on. They'd agreed that it was too late at night to rouse their other children and she promised to bring them by in the morning to introduce them to their new siblings.

He reached his destination and peered through the glass, smiling at the two babies, He watched silently as his tiny daughter sucked her entire fist into her mouth, drawing his attention to the plastic wristband bearing his name. He felt something that he couldn't quite put a name to. While he wasn't really a first-time father, he felt as if he was since he'd been deprived of this experience with Leah. He thought of the exuberant five-year-old who was, at the moment, asleep under her Wonder Woman comforter and wondered what kind of big sister she was going to be and what kind of big brothers Phillip and Jamie would be and if this would draw the three of them closer, sharing two new siblings. He thought back to what he'd told Amanda many months ago about their baby bridging the gap between the stepsiblings, of course, not knowing at the time that his wife was already pregnant and with twins, no less. Was it possible that that had only been six and a half months ago? So much had happened since then, repairing the house on Maplewood, then selling it, buying the home they'd dreamed about more than a year ago when they were engaged, settling their family into it, preparing for their new arrivals. All of it had led to this.

Lee was startled out of his reverie by a voice behind him saying, "She's beautiful."

Lee turned to find Leslie behind him her arm linked with her husband's. "Thanks," Lee beamed. He tapped on the glass, and nodded toward the other baby beside his daughter. "She's got a brother too." He then turned back toward her and said, "I'm surprised to see you here."

"Well, the party just wrapped up and we thought we'd stop on our way home," Leslie said. "When I saw the way you rushed out of the party, I figured this was why."

"Yeah," he said unable to stop the heady grin that adorned his face. "I...um...This is...I'm just amazed," Lee said becoming a little choked up at the emotions whirling through him.

"I understand that feeling," Mark said. "I was the same way when our daughter was born."

"You have a daughter?"Lee said.

"Yeah, she just had her first birthday last month," Leslie answered. "This is Mark, by the way."

"Nice to meet you," Lee said shaking the other man's hand.

"You too," Mark replied. "The way my wife tells it, you're partially responsible for us being together," he added with a chuckle as he wrapped his arms around his wife.

Lee laughed and said, "I guess I am, in a way."

"Like I said at the party, we're both right where we're supposed to be," Leslie said.

"No, we're not." Lee shook his head. "While I appreciate the gesture, you should be at home with your daughter and I...I should be with my wife." He paused for a moment before leaving and said," It means a lot that you came, after the way I..."

"Don't." This time it was Leslie's turn to shake her head. "I'm happy for you." She leaned against her husband and added, "And I'm happy for me."

"I'm glad." Lee gave her a warm smile. "I...uh...I should get back to Amanda."

"Congratulations," Leslie said. She placed a kiss to his cheek and then said, "And Happy New Year." She then took her husband's hand and left Lee alone with his thoughts.

Lee took one final look at his newborn children before walking back down the hall, his smile never fading as he re-entered his wife's room. He sat gingerly on the side of her bed, brushed a soft kiss to her lips and whispered, "Happy New Year, Mrs. Stetson," thinking of all that the New Year would bring with the expansion of their family. He couldn't believe Leslie had been so gracious tonight, just as she had been on that long ago day when he'd slipped up and called her Amanda. He sat there just watching his wife sleep, refusing to give into the weariness that threatened to overwhelm him.

As the first light of the New Year dawned, he reflected back on his past, Leslie's brief reappearance in his life making him realize what an idiot he'd been back then. While she'd said he was responsible for her current happiness, he realized that she had it backward._ She_ was responsible for _his_. If he'd never dated her, never called her by the wrong name on that fateful day, it would never have hit him the way that it had how much he needed Amanda, how much he loved her and how much he couldn't imagine his life with anyone but her. He thought of his new babies in the NICU and felt all the pain and guilt from the sins of his past giving way, just as the old year was giving way to the new.

He glanced down at his wife, his love her for her more intense than ever at having watched the pain she'd endured to bring his children into the world. He smiled at her and wondered what he'd done to deserve such an astounding woman in his life, who loved him unconditionally, had forgiven him for taking so long to admit how he felt about her, had waited patiently for him to be ready, had accepted his daughter by another woman without hesitation, mothering her as she did her own boys, and now had suffered what seemed like forever to give birth to their babies.

As he watched her, her eyes fluttered open and he heard her say in a sleepy voice, "Happy New Year, Sweetheart," with an affectionate smile.

"Happy New Year, My Love," He replied with a soft kiss to her lips. It would be a happy new year indeed.


End file.
